Liam Lawson was left furious with Red Bull after a mistimed attempt to give the Kiwi a tow contributed to his Q2 elimination in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
“Bro, that’s appalling. I can’t believe how bad you just f***ing left me out to dry,” Lawson told race engineer Richard Wood over the radio after qualifying 14th.
The frustration came after Red Bull’s qualifying strategy initially centred around Lawson helping teammate Max Verstappen, with the Kiwi already facing a back-of-the-grid start due to a 35-place power unit penalty.
Lawson provided Verstappen with a tow during Q2 before Red Bull attempted to reverse the roles for the final runs, with Verstappen tasked with helping Lawson chase a place inside the top 10.
However, the timing left Lawson attempting his flying lap while several other drivers were preparing their own runs. Traffic became an issue as a result, with Oscar Piastri particularly hampering Lawson on the approach to the opening chicane.
Lawson couldn’t improve enough to progress, with his 1m 22.821s leaving him 14th and 0.262s outside the top 10. Piastri was later handed a three-place grid penalty for the incident.
The outcome also hurt Red Bull’s wider qualifying plan. Had Lawson progressed, the Kiwi could have provided Verstappen with another tow during the final Q3 shootout. Instead, both drivers were left without the result they had been targeting.
“We knew coming into this weekend that we’d be taking an engine penalty, so the focus in Qualifying was to try to support Max by getting into Q3 and helping with a tow, but unfortunately we never made it,” Lawson said afterwards.
“I’d spent the whole session in clean air until that last lap, so getting blocked by Oscar probably hurt more than anything. The tyres were also super hot, so it wasn’t an ideal situation.
“It was a difficult day in general, but I was always going to start last, so for my race it doesn’t really make a difference. Hopefully we can make up some good places tomorrow.”
Lawson’s weekend had already taken on a different complexion before qualifying began, with Red Bull fitting a collection of new power unit components to his car. The changes resulted in a 35-place grid penalty, ensuring the Kiwi would start from the rear regardless of where he qualified.
With that in mind, Red Bull placed greater emphasis on preparing Lawson for the race and using his qualifying session to assist Verstappen where possible. Lawson began Q1 on the medium compound as the team looked to preserve a set of soft tyres for Sunday.
Despite the alternative approach, he comfortably made it through the opening phase. A 1m 22.898s put Lawson 13th, while Pierre Gasly provided the first sign of what was to come by topping Q1 ahead of Verstappen.
Lando Norris was third fastest, followed by Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad. Yuki Tsunoda was among those eliminated in 17th, alongside Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Red Bull wasted little time getting its drivers on track in Q2, with Verstappen setting a 1m 22.573s and Lawson opening with a 1m 22.828s.
As the session developed, Lawson punched a hole in the air for Verstappen, giving his teammate the benefit of the slipstream around Monza’s high-speed layout.
With Lawson then outside the top 10, the team switched the order and looked to give him the same assistance. But the final run did not come together.
Lawson found himself on a flying lap among cars preparing their own attempts, and his encounter with Piastri at Turn 1 further compromised his momentum. He crossed the line with only a marginal improvement to 1m 22.821s, leaving him 14th and bringing his qualifying session to an early end.
Gabriel Bortoleto was the first driver outside the top 10, missing Q3 by just 0.001s to Lewis Hamilton, while Ollie Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Lawson, Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon were all eliminated.
Kimi Antonelli led the session with a 1m 21.882s lead over the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. With Lawson unable to reach Q3, Verstappen headed into the final shootout without the tow Red Bull had hoped to provide him.
George Russell initially appeared to be the man to beat after using a tow from Mercedes teammate Antonelli to set a 1m 21.929s on the opening runs. Piastri sat close behind, while Gasly continued Alpine’s impressive qualifying performance in third.
The order was turned on its head during the final attempts. Gasly produced a superb 1m 21.786s to jump to the top of the timesheets, securing the first Formula 1 pole position of his career at the same circuit where he famously claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory in 2020.
Russell improved but remained 0.060s short, while Piastri qualified third before his subsequent grid penalty.
Ferrari’s hopes of pole on home soil faded as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton settled for fourth and fifth respectively.
Verstappen finished sixth after struggling with the behaviour of his Red Bull during qualifying, with Antonelli seventh ahead of Colapinto, Norris and Lindblad.
Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies acknowledged that traffic had cost Lawson an opportunity to progress and, in turn, prevented the team from executing its planned Q3 strategy.
“On Liam’s side, we knew we were going to have to take a grid penalty for a PU change, and it’s a shame we missed the cut for Q3 because of the traffic he got on his final lap,” Mekies said.
“Overall, Liam is doing a good job again with us this weekend, and I am sure he is going to give it a strong fight to make his way through the field tomorrow.”
Lawson’s 14th-place qualifying result ultimately has little bearing on where he will begin the Grand Prix, with his power unit penalty sending him to the back of the field.
Monza’s long straights and overtaking opportunities should at least give the Kiwi a chance to move forward, armed with fresh power unit components and additional tyre options after Red Bull’s race-focused approach to the weekend.
The Italian Grand Prix gets underway at 1am Monday (NZT).
Header Image: Alex Bierens de Haan/LAT Images via Red Bull Content Pool
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